1. Copyright Infringement & How to avoid it
By Marcella Fick

2. Copyright Infringement
“Copyright infringement is the use of works protected by copyright law without permission, infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works.”
This kind of infringement can be seen anywhere, including classrooms. It can happen when a teacher creates new material that plays a copyrighted song in the background or a clip from a movie is played that is too long.
In order to avoid violating the law, there are some terms to be understood. These terms include public domain and fair use .

3. Public Domain
Public Domain – Refers to the general public where works can be submitted by the author and can then be freely distributed and used by anyone. Works that have expired copyrights are in the public domain as well as pretty much everything published in the United States before 1923.
openclipart.org

4. Fair Use
Fair Use – This refers to the section of U.S. Copyright Law that allows one to use copyrighted material without permission from the author as long as it is a limited or partial amount.
To help determine whether a use of copyrighted material falls use fair use, use these four factors that are listed in section 107 of the Copyright statute:
“The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
The nature of the copyrighted work;
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.”

5. Avoiding Infringement in the Classroom
“The 10% Rule”: A suggestion to only use 10% of whatever material you are using in order to not violate copyright law.
“The 10% Rule” is great for students and teachers alike to know the general boundaries for using copyrighted material in projects or other works they create.
“10% or 3 minutes of a video, whichever is less;
10% or 1,000 words of a text, whichever is less;
10% or 30 seconds of a musical work;
5 images from an artist or photographer;
10% or 15 images from a collection, whichever is less; or
2 copies of a multimedia project.”
- Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use p. 249

6. Examples for Our Students
Upstanding Citizens
Examples for Our Students
At the end of the day, it is extremely important to strive to follow copyright laws and keep up with them as they ever-change. As teachers, we want our students to reach for excellence, but how can we expect something so great from them if we do not even work at it ourselves with small things such as copyright. We are examples for our students, so let’s be great ones.
We should encourage our colleges and our students to abide by U.S. copyright laws in order to not face the penalties of the law and to continue to be morally upright citizens.